Getting Daniel Back
by ancientmaverick
Summary: Short conversations missing from three episodes in season ten. Sam keeps Jack informed about the search for Daniel. Last chapter now up.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Due to my newly acquired Stargate SG:1 DVD's of Season Ten, I've been on a slight SG:1 kick. I wrote "I Hate You" after watching 200, and this little series stems from "The Quest, Part II", "The Road Not Taken" and "The Shroud", respectively. I'll be posting three more chapters, but each chapter is a story unto itself. Please feel free to ask questions in reviews. (That was a not-so-subtle hint.) Enjoy!_

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"O'Neill."

"_Jack, it's Sam."_

"Carter! I thought you were going to call tomorrow."

"_Something came up."_

"What happened?"

"_It's Daniel."_

"Carter, I get a very bad feeling every time you say those words. Did he die again?"

"…_We don't know."_

"The proper answer to that would be 'no, Jack, he's perfectly fine'…"

"_I'm sorry."_

" Okay…Tell me everything."

"_We found the planet with the Sangreal, but Adria and Ba'al were there. There were a series of clues we had to figure out in order to get to Merlin's weapon, but when we got there, it was a hologram and there was a dragon waiting for us."_

"Okay, I lied. Skip to the end. We'll come back to the dragon later."

"_Merlin gave Daniel his memories so that Daniel could build the Sangreal, but Adria found us before he could complete it. Daniel held her off so we could get through the Gate."_

"And he's still with the Ori bitch?"

"_As far as we know."_

"He's not dead, Carter."

"_Jack, Daniel was fading even before Adria showed up. I just don't see –"_

"Carter! He is not dead. My 'DIDAR' would be going off, and all I'm getting is the 'DITAR'."

"_What?"_

"Never mind. I'm coming out there."

"_Don't you have a job?"_

"I shuffle paper all day. I want to hear this for myself."

"_Right."_

"Carter…"

"_Jack."_

"We'll find him. We'll bring him back."

"_I…"_

"We will bring him back."

"_Jack, I can't do this again."_

"Carter, how many times have we thought he was dead, and then he came back? If I know Daniel, he's already got some little scheme to get back to us."

"_There is no Oma Desala to bring him back to us anymore. And the Ancients have made it clear they don't give a damn anymore."_

"Then we'll have to do it for them. Can you meet me at Nellis in four hours?"

"_I guess."_

"We're getting him back, Carter, if I have to go through hell and find him myself."

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_DIDAR: Daniel Is Dead Again RADAR_

_DITAR: Daniel In Trouble Again RADAR_


	2. Chapter 2

_And now, the continuing adventures of Jack and Sam…_

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"Carter."

"_Two weeks, Carter. Two weeks!"_

"Hi, Jack."

"_Not the first words I wanted to hear."_

"What exactly would those words be?"

"_I'm sorry?"_

"Sorry for what? Being trapped in an alternate reality?"

"_Sorry for leaving, and taking any shred of sanity I might have had left."_

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"_Do you have any idea the kind of hell I've been in? Daniel gets himself kidnapped, and then you get yourself shot, and I just barely start to think things are getting better when you up and disappear! I was just there, Carter, I really wasn't anticipating three trips to Colorado this month. For crying out loud, I had to hear about this from Vala, of all people."_

"I really am – did you say Vala? Wow."

"_Hell, Carter. It was Hell!_

"Why didn't General Landry notify you?"

"_Vala made a preemptive strike. I was not a happy man."_

"Well, I'm back now, and I'm fine. All we have to concentrate on now is Daniel."

"_I'm getting on a plane to Colorado."_

"Jack, I thought you said you didn't want to make another trip. You were here a few weeks ago."

"_And now I'm coming back."_

"Jack, you really do have a job that you should be paying attention to."

"_Carter, I have three assistants and a press liaison. I could be in Oz and still get things done."_

"Okay, okay."

"_I'll be there tomorrow morning."_

"Can I tell the others this time?"

"_Why?"_

"You didn't actually come to the base last time."

"_I was there to see you, not them. Besides, can you promise I won't run into Vala?"_

"…Probably not."

"_There's your answer."_

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_AN: First and foremost, thankyouthankyouthankyou for all the wonderful reviews!! They made me laugh out loud when I checked ffnet at work, which brought many questions from co-workers. _

_Speaking of questions, many of you mentioned the DIDAR and DITAR from the last chapter. I've seen DIDAR bandied about all over fandom, but I haven't seen so much of the DITAR. Anyway, if I knew the original creator, I would credit them, but I don't, so it's enough that you know they didn't come solely from me._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment. I skipped "Line in the Sand" because I figure Jack would fly out immediately and not bother with a phone call. This call is from "Road Not Taken", which I loved because of the different style. I really think Carter is starting to grow on me._

_Hope you enjoyed, and I hope you stay tuned!_


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: My apologies for not getting this to you sooner. This has been an incredibly stressful week, but as it is now at an end, I can devote my full attention to you lovely readers. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Just a short one this time, but we're getting close to the end of this little adventure. Enjoy!_

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"O'Neill."

"_We found him."_

"Where is he?"

"_He's a Prior."_

"Carter, I'm going to pretend those words did not just come out of your mouth."

"_Jack, I'm sorry, but we saw him. He was preaching Origin to a group of villagers."_

"It's not him."

"_Jack…"_

"No, Carter! Daniel does not go dark side. He dies, he switches bodies, but he does not do evil!"

"_He's been with Adria for a long time. I don't understand how this could happen unless he agreed to it. Why would he do that?"_

"For twelve years, I have tried to understand why Daniel does the things he does. I didn't get it for the longest time. Not until we lost him the first time."

"_I don't understand."_

"Daniel's one driving mission in life is to help other people. He will go to any lengths to make people's lives better, even sacrificing himself if necessary. If Daniel willingly became a Prior, then he had a damn good reason for it."

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"He's the best man I know. He was invited to join the freakin' Ancient Club, for cryin' out loud! Daniel's not gonna stop being Daniel just because some superbitch messed with his head."

"_I hope you're right. Look, it would help if you came out here."_

"You're going to get him?"

"_The _Odyssey_ is headed out in an hour. Jack, you know him better than anyone does. We're hoping you can tell if it's really him."_

"I'll be there when you get back."

"_Jack, what if…what if you're wrong? What if Daniel really has changed?"_

"Then we change him back. And I am never wrong."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Last chapter! Thank you all for your lovely comments. I've got a couple fics I'm working on right now, but it'll be awhile. I hope you enjoyed this so far. This is set after _The Shroud

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"So…" Daniel hesitated at the door to the commissary, reluctant to enter. "Are you sure about the cake? I mean, there's a coffee pot in my office. Actually, there are two. We could be quite comfortable there."

"Daniel, you're going to have to do this sooner or later. It might as well be with a two-star General." Jack raised an eyebrow, patting Daniel on the shoulder before opening the door.

Daniel sighed, but he followed his best friend. He kept his eyes on his feet, so he was surprised to hear people clapping. Risking a glance, he realized that everyone was standing – and they were all looking at him, smiling and cheering.

"Welcome back, Dr. Jackson!"

"Daniel, glad to see you're okay."

The chorus continued as Daniel followed Jack to a table in the back, where he accepted the cake and coffee that an attendant handed to him.

"I told you it wouldn't be a problem, Daniel."

"I was a Prior. I allowed six more ships to enter this galaxy. Hell, I let Adria kiss me!" Daniel was getting worked up again.

"Okay, I sooo did _not_ need to know the last part." Jack gripped Daniel's wrist, and locked eyes with him. "People don't care, Daniel. They know you. They know how much you've done for this planet over the years. You make this place happen, Danny-boy. You think they're going to let some weird body art and a few ships take away from that? You did it to destroy the Ori."

"I'm not…I didn't…I don't even know what to say."

Jack patted his best friend on the cheek. "Now you're just being modest. A linguist who doesn't know what to say. This right here? That's what makes you so _you_."

Daniel smiled slightly. "I thought I wasn't supposed to do that anymore."

Jack heaved a mock sigh. "I gave up on that a long time ago. Look, I brought you here to relax, get you out of that stuffy office for an hour. Eat some cake."

Daniel sat back, observing the people around him. There was an air of determination, and a light of hope had been kindled in their eyes. Maybe he had made the right decision. He watched Jack devour the cake in front of him, rolling his eyes at the look of childish delight on his face.

"Body art?"

"What?" Jack looked confused.

"You said 'weird body art'. Technically, they were religious symbols." Daniel grinned at the look of horror that came over his friends face.

"If you're about to give me the complete history of religious symbolism, I'm going back to Washington." Despite his threat, Jack made no move to leave, instead sitting back in his chair.

"It is rather fascinating, but I'll spare you for now," Daniel said. "I'm much more interested in what was going on here while I was uh, otherwise engaged."

"I thought Vala told you everything."

"Most of it. I wanted to hear it from you."

Jack had been tipping his chair back, but now he let it drop. "You know, I really thought Wolsey was getting better. Especially after Atlantis."

"He was doing his job."

"Yeah. I notice you didn't let him go through with his plan."

"I had other things to do. He was right, though. I could have done a lot of damage."

"His little plan was never going to happen." Jack's sharp reply told Daniel in no uncertain terms that the point was to be dropped.

Daniel smiled slightly. It was nice to know his best friend would always be there when needed. Speaking of that…

"Don't you have a job?"

Jack blinked, startled at the sudden transition. "Uh…yeah. That's why I'm here."

Daniel shook his head. "No, your office is in Washington. You have a bright red phone to talk to the President, and you make important decisions about off-world activities."

"So?"

"So Sam said you've been here four times in the last three months."

"I was gathering information."

"You didn't come to the base two of those times."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I was working on my second job."

"And that is?"

"Taking care of the two accident-prone members of SG-1."

"Right. Does your staff even know where you are?"

"I may have slipped out the back door."

"There's a back door to the Pentagon?" Daniel grinned again, and then looked at his watch. "It's been an hour. Can I go back to work now?"

Jack sighed. "Fate of the galaxy stuff?"

"Never gets old." Daniel watched his friend stack their dishes. "Jack…"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"I'm just clearing up."

Daniel banged his head on the table. "That's not what I meant."

"I know." Jack smirked, then softened it into a true smile. "I'm glad you're back…Spacemonkey."


End file.
